Azula Always Lies
by Sailor Donut
Summary: Katara learns how the way you see someone can be changed by three little words.


**Disclaimer:** All characters, items, events, etc. related to _Avatar: The Last Airbender_ are property of Nickelodeon. This work is purely fiction, and no profit is being made from this fanfiction save enjoyment.

**A/N:** Welcome to my first Zutara ficlet! This is a brief one-shot, a Katara introspect. While watching and re-watching "Zuko Alone," one line really stayed with me. I don't know if it was the emotion in Zuko's voice when he said it, or the impact of the words themselves, but somehow I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Katara heard him. So, without further ado, I present...

**Azula Always Lies**

Katara couldn't sleep. She couldn't be sure of the reason, whether it was the muggy heat of the early summer air, the hardness of the ground, or the anxiety that accompanied the knowledge that Souzen's comet was almost upon them and Aang was nowhere near ready to face Fire Lord Ozai. Whatever the reason, it was the middle of the night and every member of the group except Katara was sound asleep.

Sighing heavily, Katara sat up. To her right, Sokka was snoring loudly; to her left, Toph was contentedly curled up, Momo sleeping in the crook of her neck. Silently, Katara rose and edged her way to the outskirts of camp, settling at the base of a tree. A cool breeze wafted past, and Katara inhaled gratefully. _Sleeping huddled together like that was nice in the winter, but it's stifling now_, she thought to herself. Relaxing, Katara leaned back against the tree trunk and gazed up at the stars through the branches and the newly matured leaves. _It really is a peaceful night, _she contemplated. _It almost makes me forget that the whole world is at war right now._

"Azula always lies." Katara jolted at the murmured sound. She turned quickly and noticed Zuko lying on his side a few feet away from her, his back to her. Katara relaxed; she had forgotten that the young prince still tended to sleep at a distance from the group. She smiled wryly, shaking her head. Although she didn't want to admit it, she couldn't help but feel that the Zuko's stubborn refusal to open up to anyone in the group was a potential threat to the success of the mission. _Why can't he just trust us?_

Zuko twitched and rolled over. "Azula always lies," he muttered again, his voice quavering with an emotion that Katara couldn't quite place–anger? Anxiety? Even a tinge of...fear? Cautiously, Katara crept closer to where Zuko lay. In the light of the full moon, she could detect sweat on his brow. Although clearly asleep, his breathing was ragged, and his hands were tightly clutching the blanket that he covered himself with.

Katara furrowed her eyebrows. _He's having a nightmare,_ she realized. Zuko sharply drew in his breath once more and whispered once again, much more softly this time, "Azula always lies."

_Azula, _Katara said to herself. That Firebender girl. She was terrifying, to be sure; her Firebending skills were startlingly advanced, and the group of girls she traveled with...Katara shuddered. The trio could give anyone nightmares; apparently, even the seemingly imperturbable Prince.

Katara's eyes widened as the meaning of Zuko's unconscious words struck her. _Azula always lies...Azula is Zuko's sister, isn't she?_ He had mentioned it, but Katara had been so wrapped up with her other concerns that she hadn't really thought much of it. Yet, now, it seemed so significant that she couldn't believe that it hadn't registered with her earlier. The Prince's past was a mystery to her; a few vague details shrouded in darkness. Somehow, before she knew Zuko personally, his past life in the Fire Nation had seemed of little importance, but now that he was one of her companions...

What sort of life _had_ he led there? Katara knew little of the Fire Nation; the closest she had ever been was when she and Sokka had snuck Aang into a Fire Temple on the outskirts of the nation. He was the prince, so assumably his childhood would have been grand. Yet, something had gone awry. She studied the scar over his left eye. Zuko was incredibly tight-mouthed about exactly how he had come to acquire that burn...maybe his childhood wasn't so grand, after all.

"_Try to understand...I need to capture him to restore something I've lost–my honor."_ Zuko's words from so long ago echoed in her memory. Katara frowned. Back then, she'd been so disinterested in his story, but now she couldn't help but wonder, _What did he mean?_

_Azula always lies..._ It sounded almost like a warning, but against what? Was Zuko trying to reassure himself about a lie Azula told in the past? Or was he warning himself not to trust her in the future?

"His sister," Katara whispered. It was as if it had finally sunk in with her that these two had grown up together, that they had lived together just as she and Sokka did. Had their relationship always been so? Or did something change? Katara frowned, remembering the ruthless way that the girl had attacked and burned her own uncle, the man that Zuko loved so much. _What was it like, growing up alongside that girl?_ Obviously, not so great, considering the fact that Zuko was having nightmares about her.

"It's funny, isn't it?" Katara said to herself. "How three little words can change your perspective on someone so much."

Zuko stirred at the sound of her voice, and opened his eyes with a jerk. Katara jumped slightly at his sudden movement.

"What is it?" Zuko asked, trying to force the grogginess out of his voice.

"Nothing," Katara said sheepishly. "You said something in you sleep..."

For a second, Katara thought she saw the prince's face flush, but he turned his head so she couldn't see. "What did I say?"

"Er, I couldn't tell," Katara lied. Zuko visibly relaxed. "Do you want to talk about it?" she continued cautiously.

Zuko was silent a long moment. "...No."

Katara forced a smile. "All right then. Go back to sleep." With that, she rose and returned to her sleeping bag, suddenly feeling very tired. _All right then, keep your secrets a little longer,_ she thought, although not bitterly. _But you can't keep locked up inside yourself forever_. Laying down, she smiled to herself as she made a decision. _One day, Prince Zuko...I'm going to know all your secrets._

**The End **

Hope you all liked it! This was my first ever Zutara fic, and I haven't written anything but research papers in a long while, so I hope I wasn't too rusty.


End file.
